Stories of the People Who Handmake the Quilt Collections
From the caring individuals that first founded and now support Dorcas Design to the growing numbers of once disabled, but now enabled workers that comprise this gifted team, each offers a true testimony to both courage and determination in light of sometimes overwhelming odds.
Lily
Lily has a right leg prosthesis and her other leg is covered with scar tissue. A metal joint in her left ankle enables her to have mobility and use a commercial sewing machine. She walks straight and tall with dignity, and often has a smile on her face.
Although she previously had two years of sewing training in her remote home province, she was unable to find work and was languishing in the institution where she grew up. When Dorcas Design teachers visited her in July 06, they taught her how to make a quilt top that was currently in high demand in the Gifts from China store in Guangzhou. She made 70 quilt tops.
Lily was lonely, sewing alone in this institution, and there was no one to correct her mistakes. Dorcas Design invited her to come to Guangzhou as a trainee. Lily has experienced much pain and trauma in her life. She was abandoned by her father at the gate of an institution after he burned her. She grew up in this institution with little care. She was left with terrible burn scars and has unresolved emotional pain. Dorcas Design is trying to help fill some of the empty places in her life and has given her love and respect. Her stated goals are to be self sufficient and not a burden on anyone. Another goal is to reach the high standards that Dorcas Design demands for their products.
JOY
Although Joy has severe scoliosis, she will sit at the sewing machine hour after hour to complete a task given to her. She is very goal oriented and said that her goal is not only to be self sufficient but to return the money she borrowed when she was previously unemployed. No distraction will cause her to take her eyes off her work. She wants to meet the high standards of Dorcas Design and after seven months is already making items that require advanced skills.
Joy is an orphan and is now of marriageable age. When it came time to leave the institution, it was arranged for her to marry a man she did not want to marry. When Dorcas Design came to her home town to recruit needy women she was very anxious to return to Guangzhou with them. Now she has become one of Dorcas' best sewers. Her quiet manner and diligence is an inspiration to everyone.
HANNAH
After polio struck Hannah as a child, she was left with atrophied legs that were useless. She grew up in a farming community in Guangdong. Her parents made sure she received an education through junior high school. She had the opportunity to attend a workshop held by the Guangdong Federation for Disabled Persons and learned computer graphic skills. During her time in this program she was fitted with a leg brace and given a wheelchair.
Hannah was never very interested in using computer graphics to find a job. When she and some of her classmates had the opportunity to visit Dorcas Design’s workshop, she was immediately struck by the beauty and intricacy of the products they made. The next day she asked if she could work at Dorcas Design.
Hannah soon discovered her talents. In less than two months she learned to make most of the products. In June 07 she will use her computer skills and become the bookkeeper. Her contagious smile and strong determination has helped her overcome her disability. She is a great asset to Dorcas Design.
JOHN
John is the only man at Dorcas Design. He has completed three queen-size quilts and has started to hand quilt a complicated “Grandma's Garden” quilt that has 3,000 hand-pieced octagons. He buys all the cloth and supplies for Dorcas products. He is also the watchman and janitor for the workshop. One would never know the long path he has taken to reach the place he is in today.
At a very young age, John and his brother were thrown out of their home because he had contracted Hansen Damien disease. His mother had taken her life and his stepmother refused to care for these siblings. They wandered around China on trains for ten years. Often hungry, they would eat the scraps thrown out by people on the train. They hid under the benches for free rides. When it was cold they would sleep in garbage heaps to keep warm. At age 14, John’s brother also abandoned him. He was picked up by the police and taken to a leprosy village where he was treated for three years. He also had tuberculosis.
His physical recovery has been long, but his recovery from stigma, pain and poverty has been even longer. Today, John happily works around the workshop. He understands rejection, so he is accepting of everyone. He is secure knowing that his outer scars are healed and that his inner scars are healing day by day as he puts the pieces of his life together into a beautiful mosaic.
Lily has a right leg prosthesis and her other leg is covered with scar tissue. A metal joint in her left ankle enables her to have mobility and use a commercial sewing machine. She walks straight and tall with dignity, and often has a smile on her face. 
After polio struck Hannah as a child, she was left with atrophied legs that were useless. She grew up in a farming community in Guangdong. Her parents made sure she received an education through junior high school. She had the opportunity to attend a workshop held by the Guangdong Federation for Disabled Persons and learned computer graphic skills. During her time in this program she was fitted with a leg brace and given a wheelchair. 
John is the only man at Dorcas Design. He has completed three queen-size quilts and has started to hand quilt a complicated “Grandma's Garden” quilt that has 3,000 hand-pieced octagons. He buys all the cloth and supplies for Dorcas products. He is also the watchman and janitor for the workshop. One would never know the long path he has taken to reach the place he is in today.